United Technocratic Commonwealth
In the face of reactions horrid spite, the beacon burns forever bright; Never shall we cease to sustain its fire! -Excerpt from the UTC peacetime anthem The United Technocratic Commonwealth (UTC), sometimes referred to as the Xer Commonwealth, is an Interstellar state originating from Jura. The Commonwealth contains around 4 trillion citizens, consisting of over 30 species. The United Juran Commonwealth was founded by the Xer species as the planetary government of Jura after the chaotic period known as The Age of Misery. After a similarly harsh period, The Age of Great Effort, Jura was narrowly saved from complete ecological collapse and the Commonwealth achieved FTL-technology. Following the initial planetary colonization and constitutional reforms overseen by prime-director Klandrax, the Commonwealth was transformed into the interstellar state existing today and renamed to The United Technocratic Commonwealth. A period of steady expansion began following the transformation. Through steady economic, military and especially technological advancement, The Commonwealth managed to become the foremost power of its galactic region. The Commonwealth maintains its sphere of influence through its military-political alliance: The Cretacean Treaty Coalition, or as it is more commonly known: The Greater Commonwealth. The Commonwealth is currently locked into a diplomatic struggle known as The Silent War with The Exalted Audean Dominion, its main rival. The UTC is a highly technocratic oligarchy where power resides with the skilled elite who appoint the governing directors. The directors hold executive and legislative power in all levels of government. The Commonwealth is further characterized by the contrast between the authoritarian and paternalistic form of administration and the rather libertarian approach towards civil society. On one hand, the governing system is fiercely anti-democratic and elitist, considering popular sovereignty as a recipe for ineffective and short-sighted governance. On the other hand, the UTC provides a great degree of personal liberty to its citizens and places few restrictions on their day-to-day lives. It is often said that you could fool one person the Commonwealth is a democracy and another that it is an autocracy by showing them either a public square on Epochion or a directorial meeting. Economically the Commonwealth maintains a mostly free market, although the businesses are subject to extensive regulation and the power of corporations is greatly restrained. History pre-commonwealth (see: Jura) United Juran Commonwealth The Aftermath of the war of doctrine After Epochians won the war of doctrine it fell to them to rebuild Jura once more. The immediate years following the war were filled with confusion, as the new commonwealth was being built up around the Epochian ideals. Although society eventually recovered and the worst damage was restored, uncertainty continued to plague the fledgeling nation. Erathem resistance remained strong and the slow recovery angered the new regime's more opportunistic initial supporters. Many eventualities could have occurred if society had taken a natural course, but that was not how it would be. 15 years after the end of the war of doctrine, the gravest threat in the history of the Xer was discovered: Jura was dying. Decades of war, overfarming and rushed industrialisation had caused great harm to Jura's already less-than-robust biosphere. Scientists, in a sombre report, estimated that complete ecological collapse would occur within 100 years, one that they furthermore judged to be irreversible. The new Commonwealth was thus faced with an impossible situation and its leadership recognised that all the strength of the Xer had to be mobilized against the crisis if there was to be even an idea of hope. And thus, in 44 AC, the grand-commissars of the Juran commonwealth declared the initiation of two immense projects: project Valour, aiming to leave Jura and find a new home before the ecological collapse, and project Defiance, which aimed to combat the collapse and if not to prevent it, at least buy more time for Valour to be completed. The commissariat further stated that all other parts of society were to become tertiary to these projects and that all the population could expect was an age of endless, harsh effort. and so the age of great effort began. The age of great effort The initial reaction to the commissariat's proclamation was one of shock, terror and anger. For months riots raged and even when a degree of calm returned, deteriorating living standards and harsh taxation caused discontent to burn ever more violently and support for Erathem restoration grew greatly. In the first decade of the age, it seemed yet another war was on the horizon. But as the threat of extinction grew ever more apparent as droughts reigned, the weather became erratic and more areas became unlivable, the population resigned itself more and more to the great efforts. The fear of extinction swiftly drowned discontent as outlooks grew ever bleaker. After 30 years, the situation reached its bleakest point, the collapse had visibly started everywhere and although great progress was made with the projects, having the first landings upon other bodies in the Cretacean system and rudimentary climate engineering, it seemed to be too little too late. Soon prospects improved, however, as 10 years later efficient soil preservation and artificial fertilizer were starting to seriously counter-act the decline of usable soil for life while the first major space-station enabled much faster space-research. By the 50th year of the great effort, it was estimated that the collapse of Jura had been delayed by 20 years, whilst manned-missions to neighbour-planets were in the works. Though chances were still slim, optimism started to return. By year 80, the collapse had been delayed by another 20 years and the first base on Xisa, Jura's moon, was established. By the 100th year of the age, a new type of sublight engine enabled travel across the stellar system in mere months, enabling the first mining colonies to compensate for Jura's dwindling output, the first space elevator was established shortly after. Advancement in both projects seemingly grew exponentially, and though Jura still deteriorated, with many parts becoming inhospitable wastelands, this deterioration was slowing greatly and it was estimated that a total of 100 extra years had been won. Even as hope flooded back and survival seemed just about plausible again, the greatest salvation to the Xer had come: the invention of the Kolodom-Xuram FTL drive. The KX-drive was successfully tested for the first time in 170 AC when drones sent to the neighbouring star Kitadul returned with a wealth of data that proved their unmolested transfer to the other system. The path to stellar expansion now laid open and a renowned leader ascended to lead the Commonwealth into this new horizon. Klandrax and the founding of the UTC Klandrax was a respected, if highly controversial societal thinker and political scientist. He had previously written several works in which he claimed that interplanetary expansion would occur sooner or later and that the Commonwealth would have to go through great changes if it was to remain when the expansion would begin. He had thought the need for his proposals were still far off when two years before the successful test of the KX-drive he was unexpectedly requested to assume the office of general-commissar. With interstellar travel on the horizon, the leadership of the Commonwealth was unsure how such a significant event should be handled. They concluded that Klandrax was the only major figure who possessed a clear vision of how this expansion was to be carried out. Shortly after the KX-drive was finalized, Klandrax announced his greatest endeavour: The Astral Reforms. The reforms were meant to transform the Commonwealth from a planetary state to an interplanetary one and were to be gradually enacted in parallel with the start of the interstellar expansion. The Astral reforms were enacted in three phases; the introduction phase, the realignment phase and the metamorphosis phase. The introduction phase focused on establishing the physical and institutional infrastructure needed for interstellar expansion. As part of this stage organisations such as the Commonwealth Navy and The Institute for Interstellar Prospecting where founded and projects such as the construction of the Interstellar Communication Grid were undertaken. By the end of these initial reforms, interstellar exploration had begun in earnest, leading to the charting of several dozen star-systems and the construction of the first outposts outside the Cretacean system. By the time the first habitable world, Cambrion, had been charted and prepared for colonization, the next stage of the Astral reforms began. During the realignment phase the roles of many existing parts of government where redesigned, replaced or scrapped. The state was gradually reformed from being purely focused on the now nearly completed projects of the Age of Great Effort, to having a new broader focus in which general growth and wellbeing could once again be pursued in conjunction with a heavy emphasis on stellar expansion. When the realignment phase was over, Cambrion had become mostly self-sustaining and three more habitable worlds had been discovered, most notably Epochion, described by its prospectors as ‘Jura, but grander, larger and richer’. As these new worlds were beginning colonization, the final stage of the reforms began. In the metamorphosis stage, Klandrax aimed to reshape the Commonwealth’s complete political structure according to his vision of Epochianism. Though the task was enormous and difficult, Klandrax had managed to accumulate enough influence and goodwill in his 41 years as leader to push through the reform. And so, on 207 AC a new constitution was ratified, transforming the Juran Commonwealth into the United Technocratic Commonwealth as it is known today. The constitution established the current directorial system, separation of power and the relation between the central government and the individual planets, giving little privilege to Jura. Shortly after the establishment of the UTC, Klandrax became the first prime-director. His term mainly revolved around consolidating the progress made and further advancing interstellar expansion. The main event of Klandrax’s time as prime-director was when, several years into his term, the first meeting with advanced alien life occurred when explorers of the UTC and the Hesokur Commerce League encountered each other. Though relations were cordial from the start, diplomacy remained difficult as proper translators did not yet exist. In addition, Klandrax had failed to anticipate the existence of alien empires, leaving the Commonwealth without a diplomatic corps, which had to be constructed from scratch. By the end of his term in 227 AC Klandrax was a renowned and respected, but also old and exhausted man. In his final address, symbolically held on Epochion, He stated that the great effort was definitively over. The commonwealth had expanded into the stars and Jura was saved. 193 years ago, the Commonwealth was faced with two impossible challenges and it conquered them both. He ended his 57-year reign with these words: ‘And now the age of want and fear is past us, let the new age of golden progress begin!’ The golden age of progress Early years Whilst the period would become known as the golden age of progress, it was not always as golden as presented, especially in the early years. The years following Klandrax's abdication were initially promising with the discovery of a second alien civilization in 229: the Rozol Hive. Whilst interactions with this new empire weren't as warm as with the Hesokur, relations were still very cordial and notable economic ties were quickly established. Meanwhile, an official alliance was established with the Hesokur Commerce League, establishing richer trade and giving the League's corporations some limited rights to establish themselves in the UTC, which led to the first permanent Xeno inhabitation in the UTC. Fortunes soured in the following years, however. The first bad fortune was the discovery of a third stellar civilization: The Endurgan Stellar Empire. Unlike the UTC's previous contacts, the Endurgans were openly hostile from the start, showing consistent belligerence and turning a blind eye when raiders launched from their territory harassed foreign traders, in many cases bringing captives home as slaves. The second bad fortune was the Cambrian Crisis, a four-year conflict that erupted on the Commonwealths first colony. The conflict culminated in the death of at least 18 million Xer and saw the first deployment of weapons such as orbital bombardment and battle-droids. These events would severely dent the Commonwealth's initial optimism and some believed the Age of Progress had been cut short. The situation did improve after the Cambrian crisis as a status quo took shape. The Endurgans continued sabre-rattling throughout the period, though the fact that it had made enemies of all other known states contained their ambitions. Fearing the Endurgans would one day take up arms for real, the UTC, RH and HCL came together on the Hesokur world of Avv Civa to sign a secret treaty in which they promised to come to each other's aid in case of Endurgan aggression, as well as agreeing to a partition of the empire after a hypothetical war. Another notable event was the discovery and integration of Koltrent, a mountainous world inhabited by the Cynn. The planet had been found in ravaged state during 243 AC, having been embroiled in a global chemical war that made most of the lowlands inhabitable. The Commonwealth proceeded to aid one of the local warlords, Cyvqar Lytalk, to unify the world, both by providing material aid and by cleansing any lands she controlled. By 256 AC the world had been unified and two years later the world started its integration into the Commonwealth. The Endurgan War In 267 AC the most significant event of the age of progress would occur. Endurgan raids into Rozol, Hesokur and Xer territory had grown increasingly bold, culminating in a large scale attack by an active Endurgan admiral against a Rozol mining base, leading to its entire crew being captured and hauled to Endurga. This attack would prove to be the final straw, as Endurga's rivals multilaterally declared it an act of state-sanctioned aggression and demanded the return of the crew, ample reparations and a crackdown on raider activity. When the Endurgans refused, the treaty of Avv Civa was triggered and the UTC, Rozol Hiva and Hesokur Commerce League joined in the war against the empire. The first two years of the war mainly consisted of skirmishes over orbital stations and mining outposts and later the first large-scale space battles any of the four belligerents had seen. Though early fighting was inconclusive, the combinations of the alliance's numerical superiority and the UTC's technical edge led to the decisive defeat of the Endurgan navy at the battle of the traveller's rift, granting the alliance general naval supremacy for the rest of the conflict. The task remained to occupy the Endurgan worlds, with responsibilities assigned by the treaty of Avv Civa. The UTC's first target was the world of Arrkar, the invasion of which commenced in mid 269 AC. The invasion would prove to be a costly endeavour, taking nearly two years and an excess of 30 million lives. Whilst the UTC's forces still performed slightly better than those of its allies, who had similar difficulties, the performance of Xer soldiers proved abysmal. The apparent unsuitability of Xer for frontline combat roles Throughout the invasion spurred on the Arrkar Reform, which phased out the Xer for these roles and substituted them higher numbers of battle-droids and newly included Cynn soldiers, who had displayed the best performance of the entire alliance. By 264 AC, all colonial worlds of the empire had been occupied and the alliance launched a joint invasion of Endurga itself. Having learned from the botched invasion that proceeded it, the alliance performed far more effectively despite Endurga's denser population and more robust defences in comparison to the colonial worlds. This experience, as well as the shortages that were plaguing the planet, meant that in two years that planet had been subdued by allied forces at a total cost of 50 million military dead, not including battle-droids. With the war coming to its end, the partition of the Endurgan state was carried out. The UTC gained three worlds: Endurga, Arrkar and Logcur. Stability on these new worlds was initially facilitated by appealing to the now freed slave population in opposition to the previously free populous. This approach meant that support for violent resistance was never truly widespread, but also caused the full integration of these worlds to be a time-consuming ordeal. A final significant effect of the war was that the friendship between the Rozol Hive, Hesokur Commerce League and the UTC became permanently cemented. After the war, the three states made the 'Declaration of The Triarchy', cementing the three-state power bloc that remains to this day. The excellent 80 years of peace The end of the Endurgan war would mark the beginning of the excellent 80 years of peace, considered the most secure and prosperous times in the Commonwealth's history. With the absence of any existential threats, development accelerated in nearly all fields. Examples include 2nd generation FTL-communication which allowed the exchange of non-essential information for the first time and mega freighter ships that made interstellar trade far more profitable for raw resources. This particular development laid the groundwork for the Rozol-pipeline and the great industrial concentration on Jura and Epochion. It was also during this time that cybernetic augmentation became prominent, mainly as a way to better cope with hostile environments and as advanced medical applications. Interstellar exploration also went through significant acceleration after the 'Sapience Array', a large monitoring system that could identify signs of interstellar civilization was constructed. This made the discovery of alien civilizations far less dependent on chance. Most discovered civilizations were still in the early stages of interstellar development and eventually incorporated in the influence-spheres of the Triarchy. among the exceptions to this was the Arhnah Republic, a sizable state to the galactic south of the Triarchy. The republic was dominated by xenophobic sentiments and had rather poor relations with the Triarchy, but at the same time prefered to keep itself in isolation, ensuring no active hostilities occurred. The Republic would, however, quickly be at the forefront of the period's greatest crisis. In 295 AC, the Arhnah Republic was invaded by the 'Pirak Expanse', an enigmatic state which seemed to operate under a eusocial hivemind. Due to the lack of previous knowledge about the state, the Arhnah were caught completely off-guard when several of their outer worlds were invaded by seemingly overwhelming Pirak fleets and armies. The situation turned grim as the invading Pirak slaughtered any living thing they found and all attempts at communications failed completely. As all frontier worlds fell in quick succession, the Arhnah populous descended into mass panic whilst tens of millions fled the Pirak advance, first to the Republic's core worlds and, when even those were threatened, to the foreign empires they previously despised. During the Arhnah refugee crisis, the greatest share of these refugees fled to the Triarchy, which was considered one of the few areas strong enough and, perhaps more importantly, far enough to be safe from the Pirak. The UTC alone received over 200 million refugees throughout the crisis. The Advance of the Pirak would eventually be halted at great cost during the battle of Nayam in 298 AC, where the Arnah exhaust the Expanse's strength at the cost of one of their core worlds. The war then transitioned into a stalemate lasting over a century, with the republic being forced expend most of it's energy holding the Pirak at bay, being reduced to a rump-state in the process. The influx of Arhnah into the UTC would bring a problem to the forefront which had been lingering in the background for a considerable time: the status of non-Xer residents. At this point around a tenth of the Commonwealth's population consisted of non-Xer, yet there was no unified legal framework to address the status of these groups. Up until this point separate foreign species had each been handled by separate rules and accomodations, which, whilst functional enough when these species were geographically and institutionally isolated, proved woefully insufficient for the more dispersed influx of Arhnah refugees, alongside regular immigration between Xer and non-Xer worlds both in and outside of the UTC. For this reason, the Plateau Initiative, designed by contemporary prime-director Frolaxen, which aimed to normalize the state of non-Xer species within the Commonwealth was undertaken. After several years of legal renovation, the initiative was completed in 304 AC, having scrapped any Xer-specific elements of the legal code and streamlining the previously ramshackle mix of specific arrangements. The completion of the Plateau Initiative is generally cited as the point when the UTC became a multispecies state, rather than a Xer state. The following decades were mostly quiet. The rapidly growing Commonwealth faced little opposition, as most new states encountered were rather weak or young. This was until establishing contact with the Celestial Empire of Invith in 327 AC. Whilst the Empire's claim to own the whole of the galaxy, combined with its large size initially caused fears within the UTC, Invith's inward attitude quickly became apparent. The empire was thus largely ignored. A more significant encounter would soon take place, however, as in 333 AC the Exalted Audean Dominion first contacted. The discovery of the EAD send ripples of dread throughout the UTC: A large, aggressively expansionist state with an ideology which seemed antithetical to the Commonwealth's Epochian system, yet still highly enigmatic. Most of what was learned from the Dominion came from second-hand accounts whilst direct observation was essentially impossible. Initial diplomatic encounters all turned sour without exception, followed by diplomatic radio-silence for nearly two decades. Due to the concern over the steady convergence of EAD and UTC frontiers, it was decided to construct a defensive strongpoint at the border-world of Miocion whilst simultaneously making moves to deepen cooperation with the rest of the Triarchy. This measures would prove invaluable when, in 354 AC, the Dominion Invaded. The First Clash The age of tension Demographics Over the recent centuries of interstellar development since the founding of the UTC, its demographics have shifted dramatically. With a population growing from around 5 billion to close to 4 trillion and the introduction of dozens of new sapient species. Today, the Xer make up the plurality at about 40% of the total population, followed by synthetics at around 15%, Endurgans at 8% and Hesokurs at 6%. Demographics vary heavily from planet to planet, however. Jura's inhabitants are still 50% Xer, whereas newer worlds generally have them at 20% of the population or lower. Prominent species Xer As founders of the UTC, the Xer are the species most strongly associated with it. Native to Jura, the Xer are a highly predatory species in their origin. Early Xer would come to dominate the whole planet's food chain, wiping out all other major predators. The ensuing competition between Xer for territory and food led to strong evolutionary pressure for intelligence, leading to a relatively swift ascension to sapience. There live around 1,6 trillion Xer in the UTC. Xer are generally considered resourceful when it comes to material knowledge such as engineering, as well as intellectually adaptive when properly focused. This is as a result of strife between Xer being very lethal for both sides regardless of the victor when they fight directly. This led to pressure for indirect approaches, often involving careful plans and traps. This all relates greatly to one of the Xer's most notable attributes: they are very calculating and deliberative when calm, but intensely aggressive and savage when threatened. This is clearly exemplified by the so-called bloodsurge: when a Xer is lethally wounded or driven into an unsurvivable situation, they are overcome by a boundless fury, expending all remaining strength to cause as much harm to their foe as possible. Though Xer are natural predators of immense prowess, the traits that make them deadly in nature have long proven pointless or even detrimental in modern warfare. The Xer drive towards aggression in combat situations causes them to be too unhinged to fight with proper tact and too unfocused to use most projectile weapons effectively. Xer are therefore rather unsuited for frontline combat and mainly serve in support roles in the Commonwealth military. The exception to this are the 'Earth Scorchers', shock troops employed by the UTC who combine compact mortars, personal shields and melee combat to engage in inherently chaotic combat scenarios, such as the rare cases of boarding actions. Synthetics Synthetics, advanced robots that have been enabled by sapience, are the second largest group within the UTC and easily one of the most vital. Usage of robots has long been a cornerstone of the Commonwealth economy, but truly sapient robots have not been around for nearly as long. About 140 years ago the first synth was produced by a research team led by the renowned doctor Kreemak as part of the genesis program, one of the great long-term programs of the Cambria-division founded during the reign of Klandrax with the goal of producing new sapient life. Kreemak's team achieved its goal by crafting an artificial brain, now known as a Kreemak-core, which emulated organic neural functions rather than traditional programming, which had failed to produce results. After the breakthrough synths were introduced on a large scale, replacing many traditional robots en-masse. The issues regarding the status for Synths were problematic, however, with many protesting the ethics of utilizing these now sapient beings the same way as the old automatons. The situation got even tenser as groups of worker synths started forming insurgent groups on more rural worlds, most notorious of which being the 'Mechanic hunters' led by Zaraxes, who built a feared reputation for their ruthless tactics. Due to the rapid implementation of synths, the UTC leadership had been caught off guard and unsure how to proceed, with the immense opposed moral and economic interests. The situation was finally resolved when Froxalen, a prominent activist for synth emancipation, was granted an audience with the high-directors to argue their proposed law for Synth emancipation. In an extensive and intense plea, Froxalen convinced the high-directors, who proceeded to unanimously accept Froxalen's law in its entirety. Over the next few years, the situation remained troubled as synths had to be fully included in society and all synth-insurgents were granted amnesty, but eventually, prime-director Gelard declared the Integration of Synths a success, 40 years after their first introduction. Today, Synths have become completely normalized in Commonwealth society on all levels and are, in fact, considered the most loyal and dedicated citizens of the UTC, as essentially all other empires either still forbid Synths or treats them no differently than their automaton predecessors. Synths are additionally the most important part of the military, serving extensively in all roles and comprising the Commonwealths most elite units. The old leaders in the days of Synth-emancipation, Zaraxes and Froxalen, have since become high ranking UTC officials. Zaraxes being the head of the Eon-division, the commonwealth's most elite special forces group, and Froxalen serving as deputy-prime-director and merely months away of inheriting the office of prime-director. Hesokurs Endurga Government and politics Distribution of power Power in the commonwealth is distributed between three branches: the directorial, executive and examination branches. The directorial branch is responsible for high-level decisions as well as legislation. The Executive branch is the largest of the branches, responsible for the daily management of the Commonwealth. The executive branch is largely subservient to the directorial branch, though high-level executors do have a say in the drafting of legislation. The examination branch, organized in the "Department of Civic Integrity" is responsible for monitoring the state and detecting corrupt practices. Directorial system The directorial branch of government is by far the most prominent and important of the state. it is a system meant to assign power based on merit and ability, maintain continuity of rule and prevent factionalism from controlling the exercise of power. In the day to day runnings, directors wield full executive authority over their segment of government. They can thus respond quickly to unexpected occurrences within their field of authority. When passing legislation, a directors power is less absolute, as it requires the approval of both the prime-director and the directors executive council, the collection of high ranking bureaucrats and advisors that are the director's direct subordinates. The appointment of directors is indirectly handled by their respective commissions, organisations made up of the most prominent individuals of the associated director's field. When the office of deputy-director becomes vacant, the directorate's commission convenes in order to elevate one of their own as the new deputy director, who acts as the foremost advisor and aid of the director. When a director finishes their term or is for whatever reason incapable of exercising their office, their deputy-director is elevated as the new director. Directors serve terms of roughly 20 Audean years, which can be extended in case of crisis. This system is meant to ensure both experienced rule and continuity of rule, as directors generally have decades of experience ruling alongside their predecessor. Prime-directorate The foremost of the directors is the prime-director, who acts as head of state and guiding force of the commonwealth. It is the prime-director's task to ensure consistent and coördinated rule by overseeing the actions of the other, more specialised directors. It is additionally the prime-director's task to provide the government's grand vision and oversee large, fundamental changes, projects and reforms. Examples these include the Astral Reforms of Klandrax, the Plateau initiative of Frolax, the Beacon project of Tolodem and the synthetic integration project of Gelard. The prime-director also has full authority over all matters that are not explicitly assigned to other directors, though this authority is meant to be temporary and must be assigned to a specialised director as soon as is possible. Other directorates * Directorate of the Military * Directorate of diplomatic affairs * Directorate of interstellar logistics * Directorate of scientific development * Directorate of welfare and social services * Directorate of justice and enforcement * Directorate of economic affairs * Directorate of Academic affairs Department Of Civic Integrity The Department of Civic Integrity represents the Examination branch of the Commonwealth state and is responsible for searching out corrupt and treasonous practices. The organisation is almost as characteristic for the Epochian system as the directors, if much less visible, and is designated to be the gatekeeper of the efficiency and benevolence of the state as a whole. Each of its agents, the examiners, are assigned to a certain number of state officials, who are monitored by the assigned examiner on a constant basis for irregularities. Each examiner is also allowed some autonomy in investigating officials not assigned to them, including their peers. If examiners manage to detect objectionable activity, they can independently warrant an arrest and trial for suspects, though it is still presided over by a regular judge. In contrast to the general ideals of the Epochian system of civic virtue, the examiners are driven by a lofty system of incentives for their work: whilst their regular salaries are in line with regular civil servants, examiners are granted extensive rewards for successfully prosecuting a case of corruption or treason, becoming greater and greater for higher-profile cases. This system was originally divided by Taculon, one of Klandrax's closest associates, who adamantly held the belief that only systems of self-interest could be perpetually maintained over time. In order to prevent the new Commonwealth from being eventually overtaken by the power of self-interest in the form of corruption, Taculon and Klandrax invented the Department as a permanent inoculation against corruption by incorporating a simple principle: make the act destroying of corruption always more profitable than the act of partaking in it. It was by this mindset that the incentive structure for the Department was created alongside other measures, such as allowing examiners to keep any bribe offered and receiving the same value once more from the department if they report the bribe and bring the instigator to trial. Through its pervasive incentive structure, the department is considered to be an incorruptible, if distasteful, cornerstone of the Epochian system. The department itself is praised as one of the keys to the effectiveness of the UTC, tough the examiners are seen in a far less positive light: a collection of selfish cutthroats who maintain the Epochian system through their greed rather than their conviction, a necessary evil tolerated to ensure such people stay out of the more 'pure' realm of the executors and directors. It is often even joked that the department banishes corruption so well because anyone that would have been corrupt is already an examiner. Internal Factions The status of political factions inside the UTC is somewhat unusual, as the existence of political parties and similar organizations is forbidden. Different factions of political thought still exist, however, generally centred around think-tanks as well as the prestigious Epochian League. Autonomists Autonomism encompasses the stream of Epochian ideology which advocates for a greater role of lower governments and puts less emphasis on paternalism. The primary goal of autonomism is to grant greater responsibility to planetary and sub-planetary administrations. Additionally, autonomists generally support greater economic liberalisation, demonstrated in the significant role played by autonomist think-tanks in the economic reforms of the 430s. Autonomists are not centred around a singular think-tank. Autonomist thought is instead propagated by more specific think-tanks like the 'Office for Autonomous Economics' and the 'Institute for Interplanetary solutions'. In addition, autonomism is represented by its own sub-faction of the Epochian League. Federalists Federalism is a reformist branch of Epochianism which seeks to incorporate a federal structure within the Epochian system. Federalists argue that the fullest potential of the Epochian system can only be unlocked when problems of every level are handled by experts of said levels with the fullest possible autonomy. The UTC's current balance leaves those who handle planetary and especially local issues with inadequate room to act and should, therefore, be radically revised according to the federalists. The general consensus among this faction is that planetary commissariats should be given independent authority and that an additional level of directorial administration should be created on an intra-planetary level, though the exact dimensions of such a level are not agreed upon. The Federalists are centered around the 'Committee on Federation' and are the fastest-growing faction in the Commonwealth. Particularists Particularists are a fringe branch within Epochianism which argues that the Epochian system is not necessarily the ideal system for all situations and that planets should be able to choose their own form of administration, somewhat reminiscent of the planetary autonomy within the Celestial Empire of Invith. Particularists still espouse the Directorial system as the best system for interstellar administration and often for planetary administration, but think lower governance can often be better handled in alternative ways. Particularists are centred around the 'Association for Ideal Autonomy'. Centralists Centralism encompasses the streams of Epochian thought that wish to maintain the current centralized nature of the Epochian system and consider themselves the guardians of Klandrax's original vision. Centralists tend to be more hawkish and paternalistic than those leaning towards Autonomist thought and are also far less welcome economic liberalization, being suspicious of corporate power. Centralism had been the dominant branch of Epochianism for much of the UTC's history, but it has lost considerable ground towards Autonomist factions in the current century. The Centralists are centred around several think-tanks, most notably as the 'Klandraxian thought Society'. They are also the dominant sub-faction within the Epochian League. Maximists Maximism is a radical branch of centralism which advocates for the abolition of the planetary commissariats and a concentration of power towards the directors. Maximists believe that the Epochian system fails to reach its fullest potential due to a lack of unified vision between the directorate and the commissariats and therefore believe the power of the commissariats should be transferred to the executive bureaucracy instead. Maximists are primarily centred around the 'Executive Foundation'. Hierarchists Hierarchists are a fringe group in the Commonwealth which skirts the edges of what can be considered Epochian ideology. Hierarchists believe that, rather than the directorial system, the Commonwealth should be governed by a singular bureaucratic hierarchy encompassing the entire state. Hierarchists tend to hold various other authoritarian views and prominent members are known to be extremely hawkish. Hierarchism primarily originates from the more radical Epochian-militarist fusions that were created during the integration of Koltrent. Hierarchists are centred around the 'Koltrent Group' Insurgencies The Democratic Alliance to Restore the Union The Democratic Alliance to Restore the Union is the most prominent and well known active insurgency operating in the UTC. The Alliance's formal goal is the restoration of the ideals of the Erathem Union and the introduction of democratic rule in the Commonwealth. The Alliance is known to operate its own underground government which claims to be the legitimate continuation of the Union. Despite its lofty ambitions and relative infamy, the group has failed to achieve notable successes, only being capable of occasional strikes and terror attacks on fringe worlds. At the same time, the UTC military has thus far been unable to pin down the insurgency; which possesses its own modest fleet and maintains secret bases in uncharted space where it can operate in relative safety. There is a great deal of suspicion around the group regarding its potential foreign supporters, with many within the UTC suspecting EAD involvement with the group, whilst others think it more likely the group is held afloat by one or more of the more belligerent Invith dynasties. The Endurgan Resurrection Front Military Planetary Custodial Command (PCC) The Planetary Custodial Command is the governing body responsible for the defence of Commonwealth planets. Although planetary garrisons are generally under the authority of planetary administrations, allocation of resources and armaments is in the hand of the PCC. The PCC can also override planetary command in certain cases. The Grand Army of the Commonwealth The Grand Army of the Commonwealth is the mobile, professional force at the direct disposal of the central government. It is responsible for acting as a mobile reserve, guarding governmental space facilities and undertaking offensive operations. The bulk of the grand army consists of the mechanical legions, large numbers of battle droids in various forms to act as frontline units. There are also various units consisting of the different species within the Commonwealth. The Xer themselves are rare as frontline units, almost exclusively serving as short-range shock-troops with a heavy emphasis on melee combat. Most of the elite forces consist of highly trained Synthetics. Equipt with highly advanced combat-bodies these synth fighters are considered some of the best in the galaxy, mostly competing with the elite Psionics of the Audean Dominion. The Commonwealth Navy The Commonwealth Navy is the nautical branch of the Commonwealth military. It is in command of the Commonwealth's battlefleets as well as the smaller patrol forces employed to protect shipping lanes. Strike-force Rixalem and strike-force Kulgaf are the main battlefleets under its command, each consisting of about 90 ships of various sizes. By far the most important and expensive branch of the military, the Navy has gone through explosive growth since the establishment of the Epochion-forges dramatically boosted the domestic production of high-grade alloys needed to build and maintain its ships. The Commonwealth Navy also informally contains The Beacons of the Void, the shared navy of The Cretacean Treaty Coalition. Though it is formally controlled by the coalition itself, the position of high-admiral is held by the Commonwealth, effectively making it part of its Navy. Individual ships and sub-formations are still commanded by commanders provided by the members who produced them. The Beacons of the Void represents the most powerful asset of the Commonwealth and its allies: consisting of over 150 ships, including 3 titans, The beacons of the Void is one of the largest fleets in the galaxy. Diplomacy The Triarchy Hesokur Commerce League Rozol Hive The Greater CTC Neutral Powers Celestial Empire of Invith Minor Powers Exalted Audean Dominion Category:Empire Category:CTC